Visits

Interactions with enthusiastic experts can be hugely influential in the lives of children and young people. Our carefully selected team of engaging and experienced science-faith communicators provide encouraging and affirming opportunities for young people to explore their big questions - providing them with the tools and inspiration to constructively engage with the crucially interacting elements of science, religion and society throughout their lives.

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Why does science and religion communication matter?

“They answered questions that people are often afraid to go into that I ask about.” School student

Children and young people are natural questioners – often asking fascinating ‘big questions’ which display interest in a wide range of topics, including those of science and religious faith. The ability to ask and process these big, ‘inter-curricular’ questions is vital for today’s young people who face huge and complex questions such as those relating to climate change, artificial intelligence, racism, mental health, and their own place and purpose in life.

Unfortunately, research indicates that young people often lack suitable opportunities to explore their questions and, resultingly, can develop misconceptions which limit their effective engagement with society’s important challenges and opportunities. We are therefore working to increase the opportunities available to all young people to explore and develop their ability to engage with big questions, particularly those regarding the key areas of science and religious faith.

Why do we offer visits?

“You did an amazing job, covering fascinating content and drawing out the level of conversation that quite simply does not happen enough in schools. It really it was a joy to watch!” Secondary school teacher

We find that the most fruitful and valuable support of young people combines direct interaction with enthusiastic experts, with confident reinforcement from teachers, children’s workers and others in important positions of influence. Therefore, as well as offering training events to equip and support educators and communicators, we also provide opportunities for young people of all ages to interact with inspirational speakers with expertise and lived experiences of science and/or theology and philosophy. These sessions provide young people an invaluable opportunity to explore these vital interdisciplinary questions in a safe space, and in exciting and accessible ways.

What science and religion visits do we offer?

Since 2013, our knowledgeable and enthusiastic Youth and Schools team have run over 1,000 sessions, reaching close to 40,000 children and young people aged 3-18. Our fun, interactive sessions combine hands-on science with dynamic, thought-provoking, and respectful discussion about humanity’s big questions – focusing on the interactions of science, religious faith and worldviews. With the Faraday Institute’s wide network of world experts and our ever growing team of skilled communicators, we are able to offer expert interaction to inspire and support young people in exploring an expansive range of relevant topics.

We pride ourselves on our flexibility to provide sessions which are tailored to the requirements and interests of each individual audience, including:

  • lessons,
  • assemblies,
  • half or whole-day workshops,
  • interactive festival stands,
  • drop-in science fun days,
  • youth group sessions,
  • holiday clubs,
  • kids church,
  • Q&A events
  • and more…

We offer events all across the UK, and will happily arrange events further afield where possible. Sessions can cover a wide variety of topics to meet curriculum requirements, engage with world events, or simply explore the questions your young people are asking.

Popular science and religion topics include:

  • Big World, Big Questions: How Do We Know What We Know? (Covering nature, limits, interactions and compatibility of science and religion)
  • Scientists, Inventors and Faith (Covering the role of religion in the history of science)
  • Fossils and Faith (Covering compatibilities and differences in thinking about creation, evolution and Intelligent Design)
  • Other sessions explore what science and religion have to say about topics as broad as: ethics; curiosity; evil and suffering; conservation, climate change and sustainability.

For more information, to discuss what we are able to offer, or to make a booking, please get in touch. 

Feedback:

“This was one of my best days so far! The speakers inspired me so much, I thought my head was going to explode! Thank you!” Year 6 student (aged 10/11)

“The material was well put together with an awareness and sensitivity to different views and ideas with a clear and gentle approach to engage children asking questions from a wide range of backgrounds.” Church children’s worker

“They all loved it! They asked brilliant questions and have continued doing so since.” Youth worker

“It was excellent to see such high levels of engagement from all pupils and adults. Teachers were saying that their brains had been stretched and that they had thoroughly enjoyed it and so had all the children. I was blown away by the depth of questions that the children asked.” Primary school teacher

What does it cost?:

We are aware that available budgets vary wildly, and it is very important to us that costs should not be prohibitive to any school, church or young person. As a charity, in order for us to be able to continue to run our programme, it is necessary for us to ask for donations towards the costs of staff time, travel, accommodation and other associated expenses of any visits arranged. Whilst we do ask for these costs to be met where possible, we also seek external support through grants and donations, so some concessionary rates are available – please don’t hesitate to ask about concessionary options for any visits you may wish to arrange.

Our costs vary depending on the particular kind of event(s) requested, the number of session leaders required, the distance travelled, and any accommodation etc. required. Prices for one session leader start from around £90 for a 60-90 minute session; £160 for a half day, or £260 for a full day – but the suggested donation amount will depend on specific event requirements.

Please get in touch to discuss any visits you might like to arrange. Once we have established the kind of event that might work best, we can discuss the cost of running the event in greater depth, and any concessionary rates that might be required in order to ensure that our sessions remain accessible for all.